Elliott hopes for third time lucky
Greg Pritchard, February 21 2009
Matthew Elliott says he is thinking only of his players as he prepares for a season that represents the last throw of the dice for him as Penrith coach.
The Panthers failed in the first two years of Elliott's three-year contract, picking up the wooden spoon in 2007 and finishing 12th last season, after which he had to front the club's board of directors to try to convince them to let him see out his deal. Criticism of his coaching methods by some players to the club's management, on top of the poor results, had put Elliott under enormous pressure. He survived, but any future he may have as Penrith coach beyond this year will be determined by the team's results this season, and he knows that.
"All I care about is the players now," he said yesterday. "I just want to see them do well. I want to stay here beyond this year, but all I can do about that is prepare the players to perform to the best of their ability. The rest, I'm not really worried about. Maybe I'm confident about us doing well this season, or I just realise there's little I can do about it [the future] except do as good a job as I can with the players."
After two understrength Penrith sides were well beaten on the same night by Parramatta and South Sydney respectively in trial games last weekend, the Panthers will field a line-up much closer to full strength in a trial against the Eels at CUA Stadium tonight. The Panthers will be missing fullback Lachlan Coote and forwards Petero Civoniceva and Frank Pritchard, while the Eels will be missing forwards Nathan Cayless and Junior Paulo.
It remains to be seen how long the Penrith management waits before deciding whether to go with Elliott again next year or seek another coach, but results in the first six to eight weeks of the competition will be critical. "I've had some discussions with the club," Elliott said. "There are a number of people with decisions to make, and I'm one of them. We'll eventually get to a point where it is time to make those decisions."
So what are the chances of the Panthers improving and challenging for a place in the finals? Elliott says he feels only good vibrations.
"I knew there was going to be a transitional period after I took over," he said. "I'm disappointed it has taken as long as it has, but there are other models - like Hawthorn and Geelong in the AFL - that suggest it takes a couple of years before you can turn it around. Even when I was at Canberra it took a couple of years to establish the work ethic and culture that was needed.
"But I know we've got that work ethic and culture at Penrith now. I know the players in our squad understand and believe in what we are doing, and want to get it done properly."
The airing of grievances during that stormy period at the end of last season helped, but Elliott also points to the rise of promising young players at the club, such as fullback Coote and five-eighth Wade Graham, as being a freshener for everyone. "The young players feel more confident about putting their personalities out there in front of the group now," Elliott said. "And that just makes the group tighter."
[irrelevant stuff about Parra]
